This invention relates to a dispenser-stopper with reinforced sealing for flasks, tubes, bottles with threaded necks, or other containers.
A dispenser-stopper has already been disclosed in PCT Application Publication No. WO 97/31838 filed by BORMIOLI ROCCO Spa.
This dispenser-stopper is formed of two parts: first, the plug, which pivots and locks onto the exterior of the container neck; and second, a cap with an upper outlet orifice, which covers the stopper and is maintained in place on it with cooperating pins and threaded surfaces requiring a quarter turn formed in the interior surface of the lateral wall of the cap.
The pins present on the plug engage in lateral entry points and lateral grooves lead the pins to angled areas when the cap is positioned on the plug.
Pivoting the cap a one-quarter rotation produces sufficient amplitude of movement to allow it to completely block the upper outlet orifice at the completion of rotation.
The blocking action occurs when the conical extremity of a central stem in the plug penetrates the opening on the interior conical rim of the cap.
Each of the two pieces of this stopper has a complex technical form. Manufacturing them using a molding process requires a complicated, expensive mold.
In addition, the mechanized operations involved in positioning the cap on the plug represent a succession of difficult to achieve steps with significant speed limitations.
Moreover, even if the primary seal is reliable, the seal is not reliably watertight for all liquids. For this reason, this type of stopper is used primarily for paste or semi-liquid products.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a complete, reliable sealing at every level.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a stopper that is modest in cost and easy to manufacture, with various supplementary features such as a signal indicating when it is closed or beginning to open, the ability to fit normal bottle necks, and recyclability.
To accomplish this, the invention concerns a dispenser-stopper for flasks, tubes, bottles or other containers with threaded necks, formed of a plug and a cap with a central outlet opening on its upper surface that can be partially and totally blocked by screwing the cap onto the threaded neck, characterized in that the stopper is positioned inside the threaded bottle neck, in that the stopper is a hollow body with a free opening in the interior cavity defined by an upper annular contact collar and occupied by a central chimney with a product outlet zone and a blocking extremity designed to occupy the space within the central orifice of the capsule, said capsule being a hollow cylindrical body with a threaded interior lateral surface, a cylindrical central shaft opening toward the outside and surrounding the central chimney of the plug, with the interior cavity of the cap having a cylindrical skirt concentric to the central shaft, the lower, free end of which forms a seal by contacting the upper annular collar of the plug.
The interior lateral surface of the plug and the exterior surface of the central shaft are each further provided with a separating partition perpendicular to said surface which blocks pivoting movement.
Beyond the important advantages offered by the multiple means and areas which form seals between the various elements and the container neck, the following additional features are noteworthy:
the simple technical form of the two elements;
ease of molding;
low cost for material and manufacture;
ease of attachment to the container; and
adaptability to all standard bottle necks of corresponding size.